WHAT'S HAPPENED TO RAMONA?: Rich in EGR history, literary name fading from local view

Historical photosRamona Theater, which sat 1,700 people, is just one of many EGR features using the name of a fictional character from a book by Helen Jackson.

Helen Hunt Jackson lived to see her 1884 novel sell thousands, but she likely never imagined the cultural phenomenon inspired by her fictional character, Ramona. Nor could she have anticipated the impact the name itself would have on a Michigan community.

The book, about a part Native American, part Scottish girl growing up in Southern California with a Mexican family just after the Mexican-American War, was so popular it was re-issued 300 times, made into four films, and since 1923, has been performed as an on-going play. The cultural impact, especially in California, was enormous and is credited with creating a railroad tourism boom.

But the popularity of the story and its main character Ramona did not end there. Roads, bridges, schools, and parks were named after her, and on June 29, 1897 The Evening Press reported Ramona was chosen as the name for the new pavilion at Reeds Lake in East Grand Rapids.

The contest resulted in "a big stack of postal cards and letters with all sorts of proposed titles running all the way from the absurdly funny to the ultra-romantic," said The Evening Press. "By and by the list was sifted down to a half dozen and from these 'Ramona' was chosen...Trolley Hall and Alhambra were close seconds in the running."

The Ramona name was attached to multiple venues in East Grand Rapids during the early and mid 1900s, but in more recent times, it has all but disappeared.

Ramona Theater began as open-air theater and was enclosed in the early 1900s and could seat 1,700 guests. Popular on the theater circuit, it and the nearby resort overlooking Reeds Lake drew in stars, such as the Marx Brothers, Jimmy Durante, Jack Benny, George Burns, Will Rogers, Buster Keaton, and Fanny Brice. Although there is no proof, "some believe Houdini performed there," said EGR historian Mary Dersch.

The amusement park, owned and operated by the Grand Rapids Street Railway Company, also became known by the name. Ramona Park was a destination for thousands between 1897 and 1955 and home to the Jack Rabbit Derby Racer, a wooden roller coaster with an 80 percent drop.

Another venue with the name was Ramona Gardens, where crowds listened and danced to big bands during the 1940s. Ramona Gardens also served as a roller-rink.

The Ramona Baseball Park stood on the corner of Lake and Lakeside Drive until 1946, and in the 1920s, Babe Ruth, Lou Gherig, and the New York Yankees played in the park, according to a local history account.
Ramona was the name of the last of the Reeds Lake steamboats and the captain of the SS Ramona, William Poisson, campaigned to name what is now known as John A. Collins Park Ramona Park, according to a news story in The Almanac, on Aug. 11, 1966. "When he heard about the plan to name the park after Collins (EGR mayor from 1933 to 1955), he said, 'There goes Ramona,' said Grace Poisson, the wife of the late William Poisson. "He really wanted to keep the history and he wasn't going to let it be."

The Ramona Railroad, a miniature locomotive that circled Ramona Park, is housed in Burley Park, near Howard City.

The plaza now anchored by D&W was long known as Ramona Shopping Center and for sometime, all of Gaslight Village was Ramona Plaza. It isn't certain when the name changed. Some businessmen believe it occurred shortly after Ramona Park was dismantled in 1949. "After the park was taken down and gaslights went up along the streets in the '50s is what people have told me," said Chad Zagel, president of the Gaslight Village Business Association. A scan of East Grand Rapids' Almanac newspapers from the mid-1960s still list business addresses as Ramona Plaza. "I think people just started gradually calling it Gaslight Village, because they were one of the first to have gaslights lining the streets," said Dersch.

The Ramona Medical Center took the name in the 1960s and was recently taken down to make room for condominiums, which will be known by another name from the park's heyday - the Derby.

It is difficult to find an octogenarian anywhere in the Grand Rapids metropolitan area who doesn't remember Ramona. "We would go to Sunday school picnics there, ride the rides, and then take the boat to the other side of the lake," said a 90-year-old Althea Tedrick, who grew up in Burton Heights. "My mom and dad met at the (Ramona) roller rink," said Ruth Sterkenberg, daughter of Allendale residents Dennis and Nelma Jasperse. "My husband and I danced and danced and danced there," said Barbara Sirrine, from the West Side. "I went to the medical center every two weeks for years," said yet another.

While EGR history is steeped in a Ramona nomenclature, the demise of the medical center has some questioning whether it will disappear.

One hope that it will, said Zagel, lies in the recent opening of Ramona's Table, a catering and deli business new to the village.

While use of the name may have faded, the business community has not forgotten the illustrious history. Patrons will find many references and pictures as they make their way through East Grand Rapids and Gaslight Village.

While the train running around the dining room at Jersey Junction represents the business's name, visitors can pore over photograph albums as they reminisce about Ramona Park. Rose's Restaurant has photos of its own history, but walls are lined with lakeshore photos, including Reeds Lake ships and docks.

"It is interesting to think of how good times where back then," said Zagel. "Many of our businesses use things from the past. We have seen businesses come and go, but it always comes back. I think it is important that we continue to build on the history of the area."